Umpires Making Case for Robots

Coming soon to a ballpark near you...Robot Umpires!  No, this isn't another opinion on instant replay in baseball; this is a rant on how crappy the umpiring has been this year.  What the hell is going on?  Has anyone ever seen an umpire lose track of balls and strikes before?  I mean, other than the 14 year-old kid at a Little League game, or the old guy calling pitches at the local softball game?  I can dismiss a Major League umpire losing track once, barely.  But back on August 19th, Boston's Coco Crisp walked on ball 3.  And then on August 24th, Andre Ethier walked on 5 balls.  Finally, yesterday Angels' 2B Sean Rodriguez struck out on a 4-2 pitch.  Isn't anyone paying attention?  What are the other 3 umpires doing, checking out the chicks in the stands?  Sorting their sunflower seeds?  Two of these story links are from articles on MLB's website, so they're aware of this happening.  Someone in the league office needs to take a look at this situation before it has an impact on a game's outcome.

Daily Notes:

• The Angels got out of Detroit after taking 2 of 3.  Yesterday's game featured both barrels of the Angel attack in the form of outstanding pitching from Ervin Santana and timely hitting from the top 6 hitters in the line-up.  Santana improved to 15-5 with his 8 strike out performance.  The offense was highlighted by a four run 4th inning.  Torii Hunter added an 8th inning home run that traveled an estimated 435 feet.
• How happy are the Angels that they didn't make the off-season trade for Miguel Cabrera?  The rumors had the Halos as the front-runner in acquiring M-Cab from Florida until Detroit stepped in and snagged him and Dontrell Willis.  The rumored deal included Santana, Kendrick, Mathis, and a minor league pitcher.  As the saying goes, sometimes the best trades you make are the deals you don't make.
• The Angels head to Chicago for a 3-game weekend series against the White Sox.  The Chi-Sox are a potential play-off opponent as they're fighting the Minnesota Twins for the Central Division title.  Chicago leads the Central by 1.5 games. 
• Magic Number: 6 (with 23 games remaining).  The Angels trail Tampa Bay by a half game for the leagues best record and home field advantage.